Quintus Aurelius Symmachus → destinatário desconhecido
Tradução moderna em inglês
Our brother Andromachus possesses all the good arts, but above all others, faithfulness. In an age when loyalties shift with the wind, a man whose word is his bond deserves to be treasured. I commend him to you not merely as a man of talent -- though he is certainly that -- but as a man of character. Whatever service you can render him will be well rewarded by his own virtues, and I will count it as a personal favor.
Texto latino / grego
Fratri nostro Andromacbo omnes bonae artes familiares sunt, sed prae ceteris fides, qua spectatus mihi tuum quoque optat iudicium demereri. itaque dum te expetit, it«r inbecillis grave gracilitatis suae oblitus intravit. baec illi maxime fuit causa pro vi- 2 ribus, ut solet plerumque animus spe et gaudio morbum levare. advertis igitur, quam lo prompto et patulo amicitiae sinu receptandus sit, qui tui desiderium valetudini suae praetulit. quid plura? adpetendus tibi foret, nisi te sponte sequeretur. ergo adcur- renti religiosam manum porrige, ut qui te novit virtutibus superiorem, commnnitate parem sentiat. LXXX (LXXVmi) antea. 395. is